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Past Winners

Past Bend Venture Conference Prize Winners

2016 Winners

In 2016, four companies walked away with an investment from the BVC’s angel investors; Hubb and RFPIO (from the Growth Stage LLC) and Hemex Health and OpConnect (from the first ever Social Impact LLC). All told, the 13th Annual Bend Venture Conference (BVC) set a new record for Oregon angel conferences by investing over $3.9 million in 12 different companies. Investments were made by numerous groups including BendBroadband Business, Business Oregon, the BVC LLC, Cascade Angels, Craft3, Elevate Capital, the Office of the State Treasurer, the Oregon Angel Fund, Oregon BEST, the Oregon Community Foundation, and Trigen Investments. For more information and to see a breakdown of the investments click here.

2015 Winners

Similarly to the 2014 BVC, two companies walked away with an investment from the BVC, LLC. Odysys and Perfect Co. The quality of companies continues to impress the investors at BVC as all five Growth Stage finalists received a total of $947,500 in funding either through the BVC LLC, Cascade Angels, Seven Peaks Ventures, and other sidecar investments. For more information and to see a breakdown of the investments click here.

Odysys

A Helping hotels drive more direct bookings at a lower cost by allowing hoteliers to connect, manage and track digital marketing efforts with one simple platform, won the Growth Stage and a $225,000 investment.

Perfect Co.

A secondary investment of $125,000 was awarded to Perfect Company, a Vancouver, Wash., company revolutionizing cooking with a connected scale and interactive recipe solution.

Watch an Update on past winners below

2014 was an exciting year for the BVC, as two companies emerged as winners in the eyes of the BVC, LLC. Amplion Research and PoachedJobs. The overall BVC investment was a record breaking $1,063,300 resulting in investment opportunities for multiple BVC finalists. For more information and to see a breakdown of the investments click here.

Amplion Research

Maker of BioMarkerBase, the Clinical Biomarker Database, which gives you strategic control of the complete clinical biomarkers landscape, won the conference’s major prize, a $250,000 investment.

PoachedJobs

A secondary investment of $100,000 was awarded to Poachedjobs, a hiring platform disrupting the jobs market for industries with high turnover rates. Starting with the restaurant industry.

In 2013, Portland-based Nouvola kicked off its success story at BVC where it won the top investment prize of $250,000. This win sparked further investment from the 2014 Oregon Entrepreneur Network’s Angel Oregon and the Southern Oregon Angel Conference, completing the “Triple Crown” of angel conferences. Nouvola specializes in providing companies insight into how apps will function and helps troubleshoot those apps before they are released to the world.

In 2012, Portland-based Sonivate Medical took home the top investment prize of $265,000. Sonivate Medical develops and manufactures innovative technologies to reduce healthcare costs and expand access to diagnostic imaging. Winning the 2012 Bend Venture Conference allowed Sonivate Medical to initiate their go-to-market activities including integration with their first distribution partner, building their first set of probes that are available for sale, and clinical demonstrations at Madigan Medical Center and Yale University.

In 2011, Redmond-based RES Equine, a manufacturer of protective horse equipment which uses a patent pending closure system, was selected by investors of the BVC, LLC (the conference’s investment arm) for the top investment prize of $250,000, beating out four other finalists in the category. Brett Mills, CEO of RES Equine, is shown below.

In 2010, BVC winner Manzama took home a $200,000 investment prize. Peter Ozolin, Manzama CEO, said he was glad that the investors recognized the emotion and conviction behind his company. Manzama’s software helps attorneys and practice groups specifically identify information about their practice through automatic searches done from the vast electronic domain.

The 2009 BVC investment prize money was not awarded following the due diligence process. Instead, members of the investment arm of the Conference (BVC, LLC) elected to roll the 2009 amount into the 2010 investment prize.

In 2008, Portland-based Jama Software won the Bend Venture Conference. Jama’s software is configured as a webservice and facilitates collaborative software product development. Eric Winquist, CEO and founder of Jama, says the $110,000 investment prize was instrumental in creating investor confidence that allowed the company to raise an additional $1 million in angel funding from other sources.

In 2007, BVC winner Elemental Technologies Inc. (ETI) took home a $150,000 investment prize. The company got its start from a group of three engineers from Pixelworks, the Portland-based maker of digital video chips. Elemental creates software that makes sophisticated video production possible on a more affordable basis. CEO and co-founder Sam Blackman was able to parlay investments from Oregon Angel Fund, Pixelworks, and BVC in later successful rounds of financing.

The 2006 BVC winner of a $150,000 investment prize was Dr. Ed Boyle of Bend-based Clear Catheter Solutions. The company has developed a medical drainage device that helps patients of heart, lung and chest surgeries patients recover more safely. BVC investment prize money allowed Clear Catheter to form their management team and to license a patent; shortly thereafter, the company raised an additional $600,000 that made human trials possible.